Mountains, ports and flat ground: Geography plays a part in Putin's desire to control Ukraine. Author and Broadcaster Tim Marshall explains why. #CNN #News
If we forget the lessons of history ,we re sure to repeat them. Russia has a history of being attacked from Ukraine region dating back over 400 years. In WW2 alone the Russian people lost more people in the war than all others combined, (27 Million) including the victims of the gas chambers.
@@martynasrackauskas3158 name countries Russia attacked in recent history, and I will name tenfold US has invaded Hint - Afghanistan was Soviets including Ukraine, which was invited to support the Democratic elected Goverment against US / Paki proxies Georgia did attacked and killed UN Peace keepers resulting ir counter response,, this is confirmed by both OSCE & Georgian Goverment Syria - Russia again was invited by the Democratic Elected Goverment to repel US Proxi's, lets not ignore US occupation and theft of Syrian assets Donbass - local Elected Officials who dont recognise Illegal Coup installed Goverment in 2014 requested Russian Protection from Ukraine Bombing, even confirmed by BBC Reporting, purpose of UN Security Council Minsk1 - 2 to stop Ukraine Bombing Civilians Lets not even start with Germany, France, Britain, Italy etc MSM tries to hide facts but Evidence always breaks threw, its only easily fooled sheep who beleive the narrative - have they found the WMD'S in Iraq yet
I think I get why Russia wants Ukraine. I understand at least some of it. But none of that matters to me because Ukraine doesn’t want to be a part of it.
This is life and war! we get to see it in our generation which is crazy but Russia has the mentality that someone will come for them, when it's like bro it's 2022 lol just chill and live! Old niggas way of thinking is the root of these issues!
To make a fool of them. This is one big lie. The Grand Duchy of Moscow is not the heir to the culture of Kievan Rus. Through hundreds of years of actual Tatar occupation, the Muscovites adopted the mentality of wild lords. The real Tatars have long since softened, while the Muscovites think only of conquests and plunder.
Yep, this was an important video on the strategic nature of what is going on. Point of Order, this video did not also point out that Flat Ground gap has been exploited the other way too....the Mongols came through there.
Actually it's not 1:24 he says a "civil war" started but that's not the case at all. Russia invaded with unmarked soldiers that's how they also took Crimea pay attention do you research smh don't be amazed at cool transitions
@@Slenderirl Point taken, Paco A. Our ancestor's had certain rules that was expected from civilized nations...and by the breaking of those rules they would have demonstrable proof of uncivilized conduct.Heck, even Santa Anna when he pulled up to the Alamo with his army gave the Women and Children time to leave...which they civilly did...before Santa Anna attacked the Alamo. The region's history does put some complexity in trying to understand what is going on over there...after the American Revolution our admiral John Paul Jones took a commission from Catherine the Great and was stationed in Sevastopol, Crimea (e.i., a Russian naval base on Russian territory.) True, that was then and this is now...but to the Russians land is very very close by.
@@serwinzzalot9989 can you please give me a source to this? I tried to search it and only found that Ukraine isn;t exporting any oil - just importing so I am honestly confused
If you think about it, if Russia started in Kiev, then it's actually not Ukraine that belongs to Mother Russia, but rather Russia that belongs to Ukraine.
He have head full of Putin propaganda. Russia started as Dutchy of Moscovia and Russians were and are to this day called Moskale... Ruler in the Moscow was a kid and his nobles claimed that he is the Tsar of whole Ruś and Ruś is in West known as Ruthenia and at that time Tsar from Moscow was ruler of Ruthenia only via his fake tittle as only very small and poor part of the Ruthenia was under his rule and he was happy to prove how brutal and ruthless rules he is and that is why he is nowdays called Ivan the Terrible... and both pesants and nobles were runing awey from his land to Poland for help or just to run awey from his "security force" that was killing even nobles that provided him with that fake tittle... So history made a full circle.
@@JohnH-mo5mbAnd what did the Americans do when the USSR tried to put nuclear missiles on Cuba? Ukraine joins NATO. they set up rockets and how many minutes do they need to reach Moscow? Would they allow Canada to enter into an alliance with Russia and have them place missiles 1 minute from Washington? No one in the world is allowed to defend themselves, only the Americans are allowed to attack anyone. And it has been spreading towards Russia for 30 years. Why? to give them candy?
I am from Slovakia. I've grown up under our Main Carpathian Mountains that we proudly own. My grandparents always says that we have advantage of not being directly affected by the war for generations and now it only proved me more safe then ever.
My ex-girlfriend is from Verkhovyna, in the Carpathians. She's there at the moment with her mother. I'm also glad that she happened to be from that part of the country.
Republic of Moldova is simply the eastern half of Romania's Moldova region (which is much larger), invaded by USSR in 1940, thus drawing Romania in WW2 on the Axis side. But the official language in Republic of Moldova is still Romanian! 82% of its population is Romanian and speaks Romanian as it's mother tongue. They study "ROMANIAN language and literature" and "History of ROMANIANS" as compulsory subjects in Moldovan schools. In fact, Principality of Moldova became in 1859 a founding member of Romania when it decided to unify with Wallachia, under a MOLDOVAN prince! About 50% of the population of Republic of Moldova have applied for and received Romanian citizenship, arguing that their forefathers have lost it unjustly during Soviet occupation. Not only does Republic of Moldova and Romania have the same flag, but they had the same anthem as well until 1994!
and yet, we have been affected by 1st WW, 2nd, the cold war and if we were not in NATO, we definitelly would be affected by this war. With all due respect, your grand parents were wrong.
One issue most people don’t address is the OIL discovered in Ukraine. It would give them massive oil reserves, and they would become Europes major supplier instead of Russia. Russias economy would collapse, and Ukraine would become a thriving western backed democracy on their border.
Please share your knowledge of Ukrainian oil reserves and show us examples of comments or times you have shared this information and it's importance before today
0:24 - Russia does not feel nervous about NATO. If you don't even understand that very basic concept, what good could the rest of this video be? Russia CLAIMS to feel threatened. What they really feel is that they can invade Ukraine but not Estonia or Lithuania. THAT is all that Putin feels.
Yeah i hate fox but i cant argue with them that cnn is getting too "emotional" with their news. Im tired of the "feel" and the victim mentality they got over there
@@gabrieltroisgros324 Russia has had five immediate NATO neighbors for decades. It makes zero sense for Putin to say, "but Ukraine is different!" ... especially considering the fact that Ukraine wanted to join the EU, not NATO. _
This isn’t even covering the most major issue, which is literally another war for oil and gas. In 2012 it was discovered that off the Ukrainian coast line, and in their eastern and western regions is enough natural gas and oil to make them the 14th largest producer. Starting in 2012 with the Ukrainian overthrough of their Russian oligarchical poppet and pro-Russian leader western companies were working with Ukraine to develop these, while at Ukraine sought entry into the EU and NATO. This would mean that Ukraine could become the supplier of choice to the EU instead of Russia, who relies on its oil and gas exports for a larger portion of their microscopic economy. In effect, spotting Ukrainian oil and gas as an existential threat Russia funded “proRussian groups in the eastern NG a area called Dombast and Luhaunst, and took over Crimea in 2014. Effectively cutting off half of Ukrainians potential for development of oil and gas. While there is a potential for military defense, this is way more about Russia killing off a competitor in the fossil fuel market for Europe, than anything else.
Actually he was forced to do this. He had no other options, but to do what he's doing right now to deter future threat to his Country from the Western countries as we all know
Ukraine is not Russia's mother. Rus' is both Russia's and Ukraine's mother and it was founded in Novgorod (present day Russia near St. Petersburg) by Rurik in 862 on the base of a union of several slavic and finno-ugoric tribes that lived there. A couple of decades later the capital was moved to Kyiv, so I guess by that analogy you can call Novgorod the father and Kyiv the mother (or vice versa) of both Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore Russia became an empire and achieved it's true greatness when the capital was in Moscow and later moved to St. Petersburg, while Kyiv and all of the territory of modern Ukraine were considered important rural areas with great strategic significance but not exactly the heart of Russia (especially not in terms of culture). So if you ask me all this fixation on Ukraine and Kyiv is really dumb and unnecessary, Putin should've really let them be or maybe try to reconnect through economic and diplomatic means, not a fucking war.
Tak Putin stoi nad grobem i ciągnie porządnych rosjan za sobą....lubę Rosjan to wspaniały naród (jestem z Polski), ale żal mi ich. Mają prezydenta który na starość zwariował i ciągnie Rosję w te samo bagno jakie mieli w 1990 roku
Yes, but they are legitimising the invasion. That's abnormal. By the way, Russian Orthodox is the same as Greek Orthodox or Romanian Orthodox or Serbian Orthodox. It's not a different religion
@@csuporj Dominate is a stupid word. I guess when you see it that way, the police 'dominates' the citizens. But that only matters if the government sucks. And some concentration of force is inevitable anyways.
@@csuporj Yes, finally Germany will not be reluctant anymore, they must built a strong army with France and Poland to gradually kicking American influence out of European Continent. If Russia wants, they should be allowed to join. I believe for a safer Europe, they must include Russia, not isolate them, by isolating Russia, you are kinda threatening them
1:06 I saw a video claim that an additional large reason for invading Crimea is the large fossil fuel resources on the peninsula. Ukraine becoming another petrostate would have been threatening for Russia's economy. but mostly yeah, they'd just like to invade the area again because they simply claim it as theirs
The oil and economic factors are significant but also are the ideological reasons. Russia doesn't want a western democracy on it's boarder because those ideas will spread and threaten his dictatorship. NATO will never invade Russia and oust Putin but freedom of speech, choice and liberal society are things all people want, the Russian people are no different and that''s what scares Putin the most.
You are an 1d10t! And Finland made the worst mistake they could! Sweden, not very important.... No NATO will have more than 1000 km of border to defend (because Finlnad cannot)!
Just expanding on the idea. For Russia to really have a safe port, it should occupy Istanbul, and completely to be land safe from the West it should overtake Poland. You can not build your psychological safety on other people’s ruin.
@@leoperidot482 they are justifiably freaked out. There's a Russian looking out of his kitchen window forced to bear witness to the horror that is Sarah Palin
This war was NEVER about defending Russia from NATO aggression! Vladimir Putin was a Communist party member and trained KGB officer. The fragmentation of the Soviet Union left a deep scar of humiliation within Putin. His desire is to go down in history as being the man who established a New Russian Empire, beginning with the former 'bread basket' of the old Soviet Empire, Ukraine. If defense was his purpose, he would not be bombing and murdering his 'fellow Russian brethren' in Ukraine, but rather courting and urging Ukraine to become a willing ally of Russia. His intentions are purely expansionist! Stay Strong Ukraine!!!
You are a juvenile kid Who failed to do his home work. i suggest, you read one or two books. John kennedy threatned the soviet union with atomic bomb unless they withdraw their nuclear missiles from Cuba and it is the same with the russians. they don't want Nato military infrastructure close to the decision making places (moscow). If ukraine joins Nato, the time it will take to fire a tomhawk missiles to moscow will be less than 15 minutes. this is the potential threat to their national security they are trying to defend by invading ukraine. The fact of the matter is, the russian leadership put his own ultimatum by saying, unless Nato offers Russia security guarentee by not expanding to the East and incorporate ukraine and Georgia, Russia will take technical military solution. The West gave them deaf ears and the invasion fellowed.
YOu are not Ruassian so dont know well the history. Putin was a member of Sobchak's team, who were democrates and were the first who was pushing for USSR end. So, in early life he was against USSR.
Exactly putins already told T Carlson as much when he said ukraine was Russian.. Nato was never the reason putin would know better than most Europe Nato members were paying more for putin oil and gas than their militaries. And rolling tanks into Russia in an age of nuclear arms would be suicidal anyway
The argument to the Russian "history" of Ukraine being Russian was well argued by the Ukraninans, who pointed out that Moscow was forest while Ukraine was developed long ago.
Well, more accurate would be to say that `Ukraine` never existed before ~1917, while Kiev is one of first RUSsian cities. Really, Ukraine is a very weird name for a country that claims independence. It literally means "periphery".
Ukrainian nationalism was created 100 years ago. If you went to pre ww1 german ukraine you would see Ukrainian villagers seeing themselves as just another russian people with weird accents and their loyalty to the tsar. This is a undeniable fact. Before 1914 there was no ukrainian nationalist feeling, only sad ukrainian 17 year old boys without any jobs wrote and said ukrainians were "different". Ukrainian nationalism is as insane as if people from here in vladivostok said "fck it, I'm not russian anymore glory to Vladivostok!" It's that stupid. Ukrainian nationalism only worked because germans patronized it.
@@gbeziuk One of the first Rus not "russian" cities... Russia originated from muscovy not from the Kiev. Kievan Rus and Muscovy were separate entities.
The author’s analysis and theories regarding the “Flatland” area is based on pre-WWII rationale. The bitter winters in that area led to the failed attempts by both Napoleonic and two Germanic invasions into Russia. Today’s warfare tactics would undoubtedly be different.
@@DaDunge - Not changed much? Depends upon which century or period of time one would examine. Killing the perceived enemy is the only thing unchanged; however. the manner and methods have radically changed Fredrik, unless the observer has been living in a cave and is oblivious.
@@DaDunge - You may be only examining the motivations for going to war; how the aggressor justifies its aggression or the opponent defends against the aggression. The war in Nam which “failed” in your words was because (imho) the US didn’t go all out aggressively and chose to limit its military force’s involvement. But that’s not involved today Sir. Believe what you will, that’s fine with me. I was referring to the manner in which wars have been fought then and Now.
@@DaDunge Actually, the opposite is true. Putins rationale about war apparently hasn't changed much. So, in this perspective you are correct. However, Putins invasion obviously falls flat and he is on the verge of losing it. Even if he wins the fight for Ukraine, he definitely loses at a geopolitical scale. And losing hard. It is the first time someone tested, if the "old rational of war" is really dead. And Putin has proven now: Yes, it is! The economic damages you receive when conducting a classic invasion scale war into an intact country is so extreme, that there is no way you end up being a "victor" in a geopolitical scale. Economic stability trumps military power in the long run. However, what Putin also proved is that one must have a defense capability to protect this economic stability, if a crazy authocrat makes a stupid decision.
The Dardanelles has got to be the riskiest assumption of a viable route out. The Russians living in Ukraine have not asked to be 'saved'. Hearts and minds.
This is incredibly insightful. Topographic maps reveal so much more than regular maps. In Pennsylvania, you'd think the two largest cities are somehow culturally, economically, etc. very similar. But a topographical map shows Appalachia separating them into being parts of two very different regions of the country. In Philly, I've met more people from Derry, Ireland or Budapest Hungary than I have Pittsburgh.
It's horseshit. There's nuclear weapons now, NATO is defensive pact, there's zero need to have these "buffer nations" like in Napoleon's time. They just want new land (and resources), for the sake of it
It's not insightful, it's propaganda. Russian culture did not begin in Kiev. That area was called Kieven-Rus, and it was invaded by the Vikings who would be called Russians. There wasn't even a Ukraine for 1100 years later until the USSR created the territory. Jeesh. Don't learn your history from news media during wartime.
The difference is that the growth in NATO is done by peace talks, not by force. He is not being surrounded by nations of war, he is being surrounded by nations of peace talks. Completely non-threat. If a new Napolean or Hitler developed, those nations would stand against it and if anything it would protect Russia from that threat. Every explanation of Putin's side only paints Putin as a mad man who is off his rocker.
When I invaded Afghanistan, we wore NATO patches….. what’s peaceful about that? When NATO invaded Libya, where was the peace in that? Or when NATO bombed that Soviet country and made Kosovo…. Was that peaceful?
Spot on. We’ve seen clearly who is the aggressor. We live in a modern democratic world and while Ukraine is a part of it, Putin wants to assert his dominance and destroy it. He seeks to return to a world of empires. NATO must stop him. My question is how much death and destruction is required for us to cease his actions? My heart goes out to all the innocent people in Ukraine and Russian soldiers who didn’t sign up for these atrocities.
@@Ariwari5298 That was Hitler's personal - and completely insane - hatred of Jews. I'm not sure it's much of a relief, that Putin doesn't seem to hate a particular group of people but instead kills indiscriminately.
@@michaelblanchette2787 Putin was greeted with cheers in Crimea. Nah, this is more like the invasion of Czechia by Hitler, the annexation that came after Austria. That really annoyed the entire world. Also, @harmless, Putin hates a particular group of people, i.e. his critics.
@@jimcrozier3785 If that were the case, the US would be plundering Chile by now considering it sits a top far greater mineral deposits. The largest Lithium reserves in the world for one. Portugal has the largest untapped reserves in Europe, not Ukraine yet i don't see the US effecting a coup and installing a sympathetic government in Portugal any time soon.
Its a very shallow explanation actually. He starts by pointing to todays Belarus then moves on to southern Ukraine which is a different war and security theatre.
Packed with clear, concise information, comprehensible and well explained. Best video I've seen on CNN in months, more like this please! I feel like I actually learned things, understand the situation better, and all that in less than 3 minutes.
He missed critical component to the geographic and historic importance of Ukraine to Russia and that is gas fields. Ukraine owns some of the wealthiest gas fields in the region. Gas production is Putin primary economy and Ukraine secures its position as the King of gas and oil with the Ukrainian gas fields. Here is a much more comprehensive interesting video of it ....... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-If61baWF4GE.html As an added note, you can clearly see where Biden has been failing to recognize what was happening when Putin sent 200,000 to the border back in October 2021. It is very clear that Biden missed his chance to abort Putin months ago but, did not. It tells me that Biden is willing to give up the entirety of Ukraine, Putin knows this already and will gladly take it. I pray for the Ukrainians
@@mrrey8937 Thank you! This video actually showed up in my feed quite a bit already and RealLifeLore is a great channel. I'll definite watch it and learn some more!
Well, only it hides on the fact that nobody in NATO would even think about invading into Russia WHATSOEVER...on the contrary...Russia has helped NATO to justify its existence...why should they every attack it...the problem is rather that the West cares far too little about the East...giving room room for mafia states to attak our naivety
Nobody told you about Azov. People have swastikas. They have Nazi ideology. and why is nato expanding towards russia? It seems to me that Napoleon (France) joined forces with Hitler (Germany) and Nazi collaborators (Bandera (Azov Ukraine)) supported by America and Britain (Cold War). to achieve the goal that they failed in the previous wars. if they cared about stopping that war, they would not have sent weapons to Ukraine. they would replace Zelensky or kill him. but that is obviously not their goal
What I don’t understand is if this is all reaction to NATO expansion, where was the outcry when the Baltic states, ALSO ON THE RUSSIAN BORDER, actually JOINED NATO?
The Russians didn't like it then but we're powerless to do anything about it. Russian military modernization began in earnest about 10 years ago but much of that was simply implementing previously scheduled upgrades approved before the collapse of the Soviet union. The Russian state has been so poor up until recently that they couldn't even update their military equipment. The west and NATO took advantage of that weakness and expanded.
Who told you that ? CNN ? Just so you know...russian troops have an order NOT to kill civilians and NOT to destroy civil infrastructure..their target nazy hunta in power NOT the ukranien people or their territory !
@@meridianudachi5171 Ukrainian cellphones, my dude. I usually don't watch CNN. Yeah, the first wave of young lads didn't shoot at civilians, because they didn't even know they are in a war. They prepared for a military drill in Belarus. But, cluster bombs falling on Kharkiv are reality you cannot deny.
@@meridianudachi5171 tell that to civilians posting videos of thermo & cluster bombs. Tell that to the mother of the 6yo who died to a bomb, or any of the mothers of children killed in the missiles sent into apartment complexes.
yeah in his psychology, definitely not in his heart. A caring, loving parent/spouse would let you go even if they despise your choices. They don’t turn around and crush you to death, unless they are deranged.
Yes u can let go one of your child even if he/she despise u, but one day your child is enlisting himself to the group of gangster who happened to be your notorious enemies. You can see that the rest of your family is endangered. Now please answer what will u do if u r d Father? Would u still let go? Or would u protect the other members of the family?Or would u impose a discipline?
@@mindandsoulchannel5364 You don't fking kill him that's for sure.And maybe if Russia handles it;s relanshionship with Ukraina better this wouldn't have happened.They tried to make Ukraina a second Belarus with Russian croonies at it's helm , anexing Crimea didn't help either.Are you seriously trying to justify this fking war? There is no excuse! None. Maybe you believe Putin when saying that he wants to denazify Ukraina with a Jewish president while bombing the Holocaust monument but as you can see the rest of the word sees through the lame excuses
But so many do that and often the stray spouse and their family friends and allies provoke matters by blind propaganda and gaslighting. By betrayal and blind siding. But in this case it's not just about letting a country move on it's about Russia's survival and autonomy.
@@mig7290 Nobody has declared war on Russia since WW2...nobody wants Russia. That's paranoia speaking, meaning the entire collective nation needs therapy because that's crazy. The only battles Russia has fought in 80 years are people that want to break away or people they choose to invade.
The given military explanation makes no sense. He says that Russia wants to dominate the flat area (Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania & Poland). but Ukraine is quite far South of this so the explanation makes no sense.
Thats because the map was inaccurate, that flat ground is called the northern European plain and it extends into Ukraine as well, Ukraine is extremely flat and also Russia wants to get any buffer space that they can so literally any extra European land in their eyes is good to have. For some reason news agencies just cant be accurate in their information and get simple things wrong
Well, the Great European plains goes much further than this highlighted green area. It's that huge funnel that goes from the Netherlands straight to the Ural mountains, with no mountain range anywhere. A huge battleground for military campaigns, whether it's cavalry or tanks used. That is the largest European chessboard, and Russia's interest is to dominate as much of the playing field as possible. Their ideal borders for defense were those of the Soviet Union, with Poland and East Gernany under their control. Ukraine and even most of Romania are part of that plain as well. And outside of Russia, every country's security interest is to DENY them that power because Russia always abused it, in history. Even the Belarusian dictator tried to get some distance from Putin, some years ago. Everyone thinks Russian culture is great and all but they should stay in their own borders.
Ukraine is included in that flat area. Flat land is hard to defend. The Carpathian mountains funnel the plain into Poland and the Baltics. Between the Carpathians and Russia is a flat plain controlled by Ukraine; a wide front that's hard to defend. Russia wants to push their influence to the Carpathians into more defencable land; the only flat land that Russia needs to worry about then is Poland and the Baltacs, which historical invasions of Russia have been launched from. If Ukraine joins NATO then Russia will have few natural borders against them.
It's the independence fight of the Ukraine. All east-european countries had to fight this fight; once russian tanks were shooting in Praque and Warsaw! But this time its so very brutal, because it's the last country before core land of Russia. Putin's Russia is deeply in fear!
@@user-rt5mr4qf2p There is a strong nationalism and patriotism in Ukraine. They don't want you Russians anymore. It's part of their self-becoming. But the Russian separatists were produced and supported by Russia first, they were the ones who used civilians as shields. The old and deep frist between East and West, once runned through Germany, today sadly through (east) Ukraine.
Well now... Maybe if the former Soviet Union hadn't treated those former east block countries so badly, they might not have desired to align themselves with the west and the protection that NATO offers. And seeing what Putin is up to now, it's no wonder Ukraine wishes to be part of the club.
@make a wish I was a kid during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 62. It is largely due to JFK's deft and unflappable handling of that crisis that we are here having this exchange at all.
@@georgecher2513 Lol. When did Putin ever work as a taxi driver? Wasn't he deputy mayor of St. Petersburg around that time? I heard he stole a lot of money that was intended to help ordinary Russians during that period.
Ukrainians aren't Russian orthodox, they're Ukrainian orthodox. Same religion sure, but then so is Greek orthodox and we don't say Greeks are Russian orthodox. Plus a lot of Ukrainians are Catholic also.
@@user-hb6gu9bd3d Bullshit! It's a Kremlin myth rooted in the Imperial mindset! There are millions of Ukrainian catholics who identify as Ukrainians -- not Polish.
Start with there is no Ukrainian starting beyond former Austria Hungarian empire. So called Ukrainian, in 2010, spoke Russian close to 70%, according to Gallup. Native Ukrainian Church is rather uniat orthodox, or Greek Catholic. There is no such thing as Ukrainian Orthodox church by definition. It was invented a few years ago.
@@rudenjasergei4478 >"Start with there is no Ukrainian starting beyond former Austria Hungarian empire"< Really? So, there's no Cossack Hetmanate, no Ruthenia, no Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia? This is the Imperial RuZZian narrative, and it has no ground in reality. >"There is no such thing as Ukrainian Orthodox church by definition."< The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople might disagree with this statement.
Welll....it is more about the oil and the minerals than anything, but lets look at this differently. We're in the modern world...NATO came about as a response when the (then) Soviets occupied Poland, Ukraine, East Germany and Yugoslavia. That's it, that's all. It took 40 years for that to removed. So you might say "Russia is worried" but in reality, Russia has never had anything to worry about. I'm not saying USA is good and everyone's holding hands, but the idea that there's going to be an army marching across the flatlands is ludicrous in the age of nuclear deterrent. Especially since he should be more worried about China. AND in the global economy, he could easily pay Ukraine for access to the black sea, or offer Ukraine a financial incentive to join Russia's ANTI-NATO. But Russia doesn't dance, it takes. So this analysis is fine and dandy but its not really why its happening.
Agree entirely; is England’s “heart” back in Jutland and Denmark? Non-sensical. I respectfully suggest that this analysis muddies the waters about what is happening now and this style is what Putin uses to shore up his indefensible attitudes.
The thing that bothers me with many of these explanations is that they only do it from a "sphere of influence/great power" point of view. But what about Ukraine's wishes? or Poland's or Romania's or Estonia's, etc. Should these countries which have been occupied or dominated by the Russian state for hundreds of years and suffered immensely in the 50 years after WW2, not have a say in the matter? Eastern Europe countries, already in NATO, flocked towards the alliance. In the 90's a lot were even refused, so it took a lot of criteria being met before being allowed in 2004. So it isn't NATO expansion, it's a scramble for safety by E. Europe countries, as we always knew Russia's aggression will comeback eventually.
Childish notions of a country's "wishes" are to be completely ignored. They have never been entertained in *millennia* of recorded history and were only indulged in the last hundred years or so because of the West's cultural pathologies and near monopoly on military force. The world no longer works that way and ideas of "freedom" are going on the ash heap of history.
How about this? The Ukrainians can realize themselves or achieve self-actualization as part of the commonwealth of Russian peoples, including the Byelorussians. They don't have to be alone to get what they want. The Poles and the Baltic peoples are not Russians, so they are already out and on their own.
I do understand this. I am 84 now but I remember as a child my Russian grandmother pulling out a small jar where she had placed a teaspoon of Russian soil so that she could remember where she came from. She had married a polish man, outside of her religion and nationality and her family disowned her for it
You know, when I look around at the mess we humans create, I come round more and more to Aldous Huxley’s affirmation that just “maybe this planet is another’s hell.”
The West should have imposed today's economic sanctions back in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. That would have been a lesson for Putin not to invade further.
How do you invade something where you have your own military bases for a century? Think before you write.. but this is CNN so what can we expect from their ignorant audience lol. Sorry, you need to learn how to use google search.. and analytical training would help too.
@@SheryAwan123 what about the million Uyghurs in camps, and what about the Yemen war, and the Syria war. When I see evil in the world, I am able to not see black and white. Believe it or not, there are _good Israelis_ . And also good reasons not to sanction Russia more harshly back then. Hindsight is always 20/80 in favor of bad decisions.
I think this only showed partially why Russia is invading Ukraine and sure history plays a very important role. The why in this video is a part of the Russian narrative "the countries near Russia is becoming NATO countries" so the question should be "why do they ask to join NATO?". A huge misconception is that NATO is like the old WP, NATO ( America ) occupy a country and force them into NATO, that is the old Soviet WP ( Warsaw Pact ) way and that is not how NATO works. NATO membership is applied for and it has a lots of stipulations before a country can apply and one of them is that NATO do not take in new members that are in some form of conflict. Also, sure there are a lot of old history regarding Russia and Ukraine however one country have developed and the other has not, Ukraine will not be forced into a marriage as in some Middle Eastern cultures. Russia is not as of today as attached to Ukraine over the "brotherhood" it is about control, strategy and money. You see Ukraine has been and is the European "breadbasket" as well as it is rich in gas and oil, everything the Putin and his oligarchs are after. On the strategic point of course Crimea is one of the most important ports. Even the religion has gone South, the Russian orthodox church has banished the Ukrainian orthodox church and as we talk about history I must say that it makes me a bit sick too my stomach that the so called author is so one sided towards Russia and forget such a important piece in history as the Holodomore because that is a huge reminder for all Ukrainian people.
Вы абсолютно правы уважаемый! Жаль всех, да гибнут люди, но их могло погибнуть коллосально больше если бы Украина со своими националистами начала войну против Донбасса в статусе члена НАТО, ведь России пришлось бы втянутся в конфликт. Вероятно с применением ядерного оружия..может Россия спасла мир сейчас?
Thank you, I cannot believe CNN let this propagandist deliver Russian blood-and-soil narratives on their network. They need to hear from all of us. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦 💙 💛
@@carolyntalbot947 Thanks Carolyne. Yes even if this was not for the average person a "propaganda" or excuse for Russia and their behavior I'd say it was. The so called "brotherhood" between these countries has not been just that, sure the villages close to Russia always had a closer tie with cross marriages etc but in general Ukraine started to develop in a totally different direction in beginning of the 90's. Sadly Russian influenced or even placed presidents and government officials in Ukraine has slowed it down and in 2008 it started to get a grip again and in 2014 it got traction for Ukraine and the proof of that is the annexation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Anyway thank you for the recognition of my post. Slava Ukraini!
oh yeah, makes total sense .. its all about flat land, ... nothing at all to do with gas and oil reserves off the ukraine coast in the black sea .. you totally nailed it
What he pointed out there is a geo-political factor that is in Putin's mind. There are other considerations as well, but to Putin the fact that NATO effectively controls such a large part of the North European Plain is in his mind a direct threat to Russia. Never mind that NATO has no desire whatsoever to attack Russia unless Russia were to attack first, but that's Russian paranoia for you.
@@crazybox7326 It is part of the equasion for him. To him NATO is a hostile entity towards Russia that now has military control over an area from whence Russia has been invaded repeatedly.
@@kimwit1307 i cant decide if you are naive or just misinformed. maybe just a putin apologist. there is no "hostile entity" towards russia. there has not been in over 30 years. maybe you want to argue that his expansionist invasion was to guard against nazis in ukraine? or possibly he is attacking nuclear power plants to prevent zelensky from creating dirty bombs? you are spouting the party line, why not go for the whole keg of kool-aid. this is a war about control of large reserves of oil and gas. period. to say anything else is not only disingenuous but insulting.
@@crazybox7326 You are completely misreading my posts here. I am saying what I think is happening inside Putin's deranged mind. I am not making excuses for him, just stating what I believe are part of his motivations. That those motivations and his way of thinking are wrong is clear to anyone wiht a rational mind. But the actions of Putin can only be explained if you first accept that he has the irrational belief that Russia is under threat from NATO/Ukraine and that military action is warranted to stop that threat. To be clear: I think Putin is a madman at this point. As for the oil/gas argument, compared to what Russia already has the amount of what Ukraine has is rather little as far as I know.
It is difficult for countries that never had border issues to understand this. Older countries and cultures value their history. I wish Richard Holbrook was with us. He knew diplomacy.
@Louis van der Merwe if you decide to invade a sovereign nation and bomb their civilians because of your old conceptions of the world, then yes, you do deserve to be condemned.
@@user-rt5mr4qf2p Look at what the Ukrainian Nazis are doing ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%8F_%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2
Anyone remember the Cuban missile crisis? After that event it was agreed that neither country would put nuclear missiles in each other’s backyard. Over the years slowly and steadily NATO and the US broke the agreement. And now you have the results. The truth is the truth.
actually Rassia has missiles with atomic warheads in Kaliningrad and nato does not have missiles with atomic warheads in any new Nato members since 1990
As far as advancing armies, seriously, we are in the 21st century with ballistic missiles. Plus Hannibal passed the Alps before there were roads across it. As far as Crimea, Russia always had access to the Black Sea, roughly between Rostov and Sochi, and a base in Crimea as well.
Ballistic missiles don't win wars. Boots on the ground do, and from Berlin to Moscow or Kiyv to Moscow, there is basically only flat land to walk. Hannibal crossed the Alps on foot, when you are on foot you can cross any terrain(although it takes more effort for some terrains), modern vehicles however need roads to cross mountains. Destroy one road in the mountain and you have possibly saved youself. Crimea is not just a simple port, there is a reason they have continiously been there for 200 years.
In other words Russia broke up with Ukraine but now Russia wants a second chance however Ukraine says no because she has moved on while Russia knows he made a mistake.
Thank you so much for this concise and easily understood summary of history, geography and cultural identities: Best three minutes I’ve spent in months
Could’ve just said Putin wants to dominate them because in his mind he still owns them and he heard they might want to join the EU so he said “fuck that…start murdering women and children and say it’s only military targets. No one will know”…I’m paraphrasing but I hope his own people rip him limb from taint and make Russia an at least somewhat democratic society
That’s the cool thing, you don’t have to care, it’s just interesting and maybe (probably not) important to know about it 🤷. It doesn’t have to change your mind, it’s just an informative about a potential reason as to why Putin decided to pull this shit… Frankly I had no idea that Russian culture originated in Ukraine so I personally learned something from this video 🤷😊…
@@inervin spelling Syria wrong is also pathetic. Also copy pasting which people have known and has been written on every comment about the war is a bot move. So calling you a bot about it, is valid. your point?
For those who ask: “Why does Ukraine matter? “ This is why Ukraine matters. It is the second largest country by area in Europe by area and has a population of over 40 million - more than Poland. Ukraine ranks: 1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores; 2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves; 2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves); 2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons); 2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves; 3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters) 4th in the world by the total value of natural resources; 7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons) Ukraine is an important agricultural country: 1st in Europe in terms of arable land area; 3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume); 1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil; 2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports; 3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world; 4th largest producer of potatoes in the world; 5th largest rye producer in the world; 5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons); 8th place in the world in wheat exports; 9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs; 16th place in the world in cheese exports. Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people. Ukraine is an important industrialised country: 1st in Europe in ammonia production; Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system; 3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants; 3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km); 3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment; 3rd largest iron exporter in the world 4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world; 4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers; 4th place in the world in clay exports 4th place in the world in titanium exports 8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates; 9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products; 10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons). Ukraine matters. That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world.
Maybe I am dumb, but how all these would benefit average Americans? Why should average Americans care about resources in another country when the trickle-down economy does not help Average Americans?
@@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii2458 Well, because Americans don’t like to be extorted, don’t they? The Oil Crisis in the 70s for example, was mainly because of the wars in the Middle East, but it was the American (and European) economy who took the biggest blow. Simply put, the more resources an anti-western country has, the more it can strategically price-fix to damage the economy. And your wallet too.
@@tarasbondarenko7342 Our wallets are hurting, regardless of how much resources our government has. I guess you are not familiar with the reality of being an average American. As they say, war is poor people dying for rich men's properties. The American tax dollars that are being spent on Ukraine could be spent on helping Americans in need, especially during inflation, but no~~~. The oligarchs in America want us, average Americans, to give up our tax dollars just so they can protect their overseas investments. smdh...
@@Luis.Macedo.Monteiro The worse crisis has been going on in Yemen for 8 years now, but no one cares. So, why is this special? As you said, it seems like they don't want to waste a good crisis for their political agendas. I am a veteran. I was fooled by Bush soon after 9/11. This smells just like back in the day.
Russia's oil and natural gas exports to the rest of Europe are by far its largest source of revenue. Vast untapped oil and gas reservoirs exist beneath Ukraine. If developed, a western friendly Ukraine would easily replace Russia as Europe's chief supplier of fossil fuels. Shell planned on developing some of these fields, but got scared away when Russia invaded Crimea. I'm sure all the reasons given in this video are important considerations, but realistically, Putin's money is coming from oil sales to Europe, and Ukraine was threatening that cash flow.
what rot, Russia have basically sacrificed their future energy contracts because of their own priciples, and also to fight Nazis. See the evidence here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KfaAyiP8Wuc.html, this is real.
Notice how all these global atrocities come down to two factors: oil(aka greed) and / or religion/ethnic pride? Two of the 7 original sins(greed and pride). Humans will ultimately destroy themselves because they cannot learn to share or respect each other's origin. This is also the reason they are destroying nature. Such a pathetic species 🙄 As hard as it tries, it just can't help itself. 🙄 The dictators or leaders' greed is propagated by using religion or ethnic pride to stir up the common people to fight( defend) for their origin . This is classic 101 psychology used on people in mass. The Crusades weren't about religion; it was about the greedy European kings losing control of the trade routes from the east to the Muslim controlled counties. The Muslims guaranteed the European Christians the right to visit and practice in the holy lands of Jerusalem. But, the Kings never shared that information with the masses. Instead, they told them, "The Muslims were taking your holy lands away from you." Thus, the holy war Crusades were fought. Thousands died in the name of greed propagated by religious pride. Humans are also ironic.
@@pawaniyer Let's not forget the right of self determination of people, that comes before everything else. Ukranians clearly don't want to be part of Russia so they shouldn't be and conquering them is colonialism.
All of these are factors. There are multiple geopolitical aims for Russia and Putin's personal ambitions. As well as security concerns from NATO (which are a combination of paranoia but also not wanting to NATO to interfere with their own expansion).
He literally forgot one of the biggest reason, Ukraine is a hotbed of energy reserves, once a pro Russian government is in place, it will strengthen an already strong grip Russia has in the European energy market
Except he left out the reason Putin has invaded Ukraine. This is why academics need to get out more. History is useless without context, invaluable with it. Ukraine is sitting on the biggest gas and oil reserves outside of Russia. Putin has made sure they never get developed by stealing them in Crimea and fomenting trouble in the Donbas region. But now Shell, Exxon and BP have all confirmed even bigger finds in the west of the country, outside of Putin’s reach, the only way he can prevent their development is by stealing the whole country and sitting on them himself. So long as they are never drilled, he remains the biggest energy exporter in Europe and the 2nd biggest in the world. He doesn’t want to drill them himself. He just wants to ensure no one else does. But, if Putin had ever read a little history, he’d understand that the west has NEVER allowed themselves to lose control over energy reserves in a hundred years. Not since, “energy security,” has been a thing. This is not a war. This is an armed robbery, pure and simples. And he’ll lose. In 20 or 30 years, it won’t matter, because no one will be using fossil fuels. But psycho boy Putin doesn’t care what mess he leaves behind to bequeath his successors. In fact, it probably massages his ego to think the country will collapse when he’s gone, making it look like only he could run Mother Russia? Who cares? The madman needs to go now. We must sanction him into the Stone Age until his people overthrow him. Better that than starving?
@@pf9222 : Yup. It’s actually an armed robbery. He doesn’t want to drill Ukraine’s massive reserves. He wants to ensure no one does. Historians need to get out more. This guy is seeing it all from the perspective of a decent person who reads, not from the POV of a mafia hood who is so ignorant he keeps calling Zelensky a Nazi, even though he’s Jewish.
They talk about Russian hearts and common heritage and all....so then build a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with them. But no, Putin can only think in terms of power and domination.
Poland has been getting to know Russian politicians for above 80 years and knows them very well that's why "History teaches that a democracy without values easily turns into open or disguised totalitarianism" Pope John Paul II
I'm not sure if it explains modern reality or rather Putin's excuses. It would taka a complete nutcase to try to conquer Russia militarily. I would think by now, after Hitler and Napoleon, the history of infeasibility of conquering Russia is clear. Plus, good part of Western Europe nearly disarmed itself after the end of the Cold War. So to my mind, this picture of military threat from the West towards Russia is a phantasmagory, or rather an excuse.
As a rational actor, you cannot simply cross your fingers and hope you dont get invaded again. That is irresponsible leadership. Russia has repeatedly been invaded through Ukraine. Also, you cannot put anything past the Neocons in the u.s. government. They destroyed iraq for no reason, and have explicitly threatened moscow with "regime change" for many years
@@stevencoardvenice they did? I think they more spoke about it as a wish, not a threat. Iraq is one thing, you cannot seriously use invasion on Iraq as a prove that US could attack Russia. Unless they get a complete nutcase, like Putin type. They could never win the war with Russia on Russian territory. They could not win with Iraq or Afghanistan. Russia??? Give me a break. And like I said, the western countries in EU practically disarmed themselves. Putin on the other side has all kinds of reasons to attack Ukraine, Baltic states, even Poland related to recreating Soviet type of hegemony in Central Europe. And conquering them is much more feasible than anyone conquering Russia. Well, maybe if Chinese would like to try some time in the future... But I doubt it. Basic knowledge of geography would tell you not to try it. To big a bite for anyone. But Putin achieved what seemed impossible - bringing US, western countries and Nato closer together. They are much more of a threat to him now than they were for 2-3 weeks ago.
